A Story of Happiness
by Imaginary Cake
Summary: "A story of happiness, huh? Is that what this is?" Total fluff, kind of sad, boyxboy. Rated T because I'm paranoid.


_This is a story full of happiness._

Kusanagi read. His eyes drifted over the carefully written kanji, soaking in the meaning of those seven words. A story of full of happiness.

Out of every hobby that Totsuka picked up, writing about his life in a small notebook was a hobby that nobody knew the vassal had taken an interest to. Thoughts, records of his day, little stories about life in Homra; the notebook had it all. The younger man had obviously taken the proper steps to hide the journal, as Kusanagi only found it after deciding today was a day to do a deep, _deep_ cleaning of the bar. It ended up being hidden behind the jukebox wrapped in a plastic bag.

Upon finding it, the bartender opened the front cover to find those words filling up the entirety of the first page. It was then that he realized this was another one of Totsuka's pastimes. But no, it had to be more than that, Kusanagi realized as he flipped through the pages and found that the dates ranged from about a year ago to just yesterday. Yes, this was much more than a hobby.

_I found my old plant book today, it's still covered in dirt from when I used to use it to find food. _Kusanagi read from a page towards the beginning. _It's funny, you'd think the book would carry only bitter memories, but I'm glad I found it. It's comforting to know I'm not the same cold-hearted boy I used to be, or maybe I still am. No, never mind, I'm not cold-hearted. I have the exact opposite problem now, I guess, since I care too much about the people around me. King and Izumo especially._

Kusanagi flipped to a new page.

_I think King's upset with me. He won't come out of his room, and won't unlock his door. I know Izumo knows what King is thinking, but he won't tell me. He keeps telling me to go check on King. _

Kusanagi recalled that day vividly, for that was the day that Mikoto had decided to lock himself in his room after the new Blue king, Munakata Reisi, had come the previous night to talk with him. Totsuka was so worried about the King, thinking that it was him, not Munakata who'd been the reason for Mikoto's sudden withdrawal from daily life. The stubborn redhead finally left his room at about midnight, not speaking a word to anyone, even when Totsuka smiled widely and asked if his precious King was feeling better.

But what Kusanagi didn't remember was the next part of the entry.

_King probably knows. I don't know how he knows, but I think that's what's happening. He knows and he's too creeped out to even face me. If that's the case then maybe I should just leave so he can come back out and everything will go back to normal. King deserves better anyways._

Then the next paragraph, which was written probably later in the day since it was in a different colored ink.

_For a long time I sat in front of King's door, hoping he would open it, and then King suddenly said "I know you're out there." I was afraid for a moment that he'd tell me to leave or get angry with me, but he just said something about the Blue King being an ass. I laughed, and I could've sworn I heard King laughing too. I was really scared for a while there, but it worked out in the end. King even came down later, and even though he was still in a mood I could tell he felt better just being around the rest of Homra._

Kusanagi shook his head slightly at the Vassal's sentimental over-thinking of the King's actions.

He turned to a more recent page, finding the kanji to be written in a slightly shakier hand than the other entries.

_Things are going better than I thought it ever could go. I don't know if King even realizes what he's doing, but I hope he doesn't stop now. I want to be with him forever. Of course I want to stay with all of Homra forever, but if anything happened to King, I don't think I could handle it. King knows, I know he knows at this point. He isn't running away or ignoring me, so I'm guessing that's a good sign? I don't want him to leave me. Nobody else knows except us, or at least I think that's how it is. I don't know if King wants others to know yet, so I won't tell anyone. I don't even know if King wants us to be something to know about, all I know is that he's allowing me to get closer to him, and maybe that's all I need now._

"Uhm," came a voice. Kusanagi quickly snapped the notebook shut and glanced up at the young man who stood at the base of the stairs. Totsuka's eyes were trained on the booklet in the bartender's hands, eyes wide and invisible words dropping from his opening and closing mouth as he tried to form an intelligent sentence.

For a long five seconds, the two men just stared at each other. Kusanagi was caught red-handed.

"Heh, looks like you, uh, found that..." Totsuka's voice was uncomfortable, a silent question of _Do you know?_ hung in the air. "You-uhm, did you read it?"

Kusanagi held out his hand, offering the book to the younger man who quickly snatched the booklet and clutched it close to his chest, almost protectively.

"A story of happiness, huh? Is that what this is?" Kusanagi asked in response, making Totsuka's face twist into a look of sheepishness.

"I think it is," he said simply. "How much did you read?"

"Enough," Kusanagi responded simply, giving the younger man a pointed look. The vassal felt himself blush slightly, realizing that he'd been found out. "Why'd you start writing in the first place?"

Totsuka smiled uncomfortably. "There's some things that it's easier to write than to say,"

A silence settled for a moment.

Kusanagi broke that silence first.

"Why'd you stop writing in it?"

Totsuka chuckled half-heartedly. "I guess I found someone willing to listen to the words I would've otherwise written."

"Mikoto?"

"Yea," there was no point in lying now. Kusanagi knew, it's not like Totsuka could say it was anyone different. "He's a lot better listener than one might think."

Kusanagi observed the man as he shifted from foot to foot, seemingly stuck in a thought. The book still clutched to his chest, his cheeks still slightly red; he was fragile looking. Such a contrast to the strength Mikoto constantly gave off.

"He does care about you- Mikoto does," Kusanagi found himself saying. "I think he has for a while now, since that time when you were in the hospital maybe,"

"Really?" Totsuka stared at him, wide-eyed and innocent looking.

"Yea," Kusanagi said. "Yea he does."

"Heh, well," the younger man shifted from foot to foot, a small smile gracing his lips. "I'm glad."

Kusanagi smiled slightly, a tinge of melancholy painting his features. "Yea,"

There was a moment of loaded silence for a few beats, in which a million thoughts passed through the minds of both men. Totsuka's thoughts resembled something along the lines of _Will Mikoto be mad? I don't think he will... _While Kusanagi's was a bit more like _He seems happy, and Mikoto's had less of an end-of-the-world attitude lately... I guess this is good...__  
_

"I, uh, should probably go find Eric, he, uh, ran off again..." Totsuka said awkwardly, discomfort obvious in his voice as he realized that the bartender knew his biggest secret.

"Ah, yea, of course," Kusanagi nodded, watching as Totsuka nodded back to him and tucked his journal into his pocket as he fled from the bar.

No one remained in the bar, it was only Kusanagi. And of course the King, but he was asleep upstairs and it wasn't like Kusanagi could just go up and talk to him. That was Totsuka's job. Totsuka was the King's loyal vassal, the King's support, his _love_ apparently.

With a sigh, Kusanagi kicked the mop he'd been using before, causing the handle to hit the floor with a sharp sound that resonated through the bar. The bartender ran his hand through his hair, frustrated.

Kusanagi was the King's co-lead of sorts, he was the Red Clan's sanity, he was _Mikoto_'s best friend.

He was an informant, a bartender, a caretaker, a support, a clansmember, a leader, a _friend. _Hell, he was practically family to the rest of Homra.

But none of that mattered.

Totsuka was more.

More than Kusanagi would ever be.

"A story full of happiness, bull-shit," the bartender muttered, picking the mop back up off the floor.

_This is a story full of loneliness._

That's how Kusanagi's story would begin.

_This is a fucked up story full of loneliness and pain and being left behind._

Mikoto sat up in his room. At about this time, he could've sworn he heard a voice from downstairs mutter something about love, possibly a mutter of "Goddammit, Mikoto."

The King simply chose to ignore and go back to sleep.


End file.
